Tag Archives: volcanoes

Volcanoes and photosynthesis

We typically think of volcanoes as destructive, but their eruptions could be feeding tiny photosynthetic organisms that live in the ocean.

Primary productivity (how much photosynthesis occurs) in certain areas of the ocean is iron-limited: even though phytoplankton (photosynthetic microscopic organisms) have plenty of all the other nutrients they need, a shortage of iron limits their growth. Read more